Author

Sponsor

Advisor

Date of Award

5-1973

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Speech

Physical Description

1 online resource (40 p.)

Subjects

Personal space, Ethnopsychology

DOI

10.15760/etd.2171

Abstract

This thesis is an attempt to refine the analysis of an empirical study in intercultural proxemic behavior research conducted by Watson and Graves and is, as well, a partial and modified replication of that study. The hypothesis of this, study is that Arabs will exhibit significant differences in proxemic behavior from Americans, with Arab's being closer and more direct in their proxemic, behavior than Americans. To test this hypothesis eighteen Saudi-Arabian and eighteen American male students were observed as two groups of nine homogeneous dyads and as one group of eighteen heterogeneous dyads.

Seven minute dyadic interactions in a controlled, laboratory setting were filmed and recorded on video tape. Five proxemic variables were analyzed: sociofugal-sociopetal axis, kinesthetic factors, touch code, visual code, and voice loudness scale. The video-taped data were analyzed and scored. Individual scores were averaged to arrive at dyadic scores. Twenty-five t-tests, were calculated to test for possible statistically significant differences between the cultural groups and between both groups of homogeneous dyads and the heterogeneous dyads. No significant differences were found. Thirty Pearson correlations were computed for any possible significant positive correlation among the five variables in Saudi-Arabian - American dyads and in both Saudi-Arabian and America dyads separately. Three significant positive correlations as well as three significant negative correlations were discovered. The hypothesis of the study was not supported and the findings of the Watson and Graves' study did not appear in the present examination.